Williams-Cole House · Photo: Jetmound · CC BY-SA 3.0Vernon Township’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Vernon District Public Library serves 4,273 people in and around Vernon Township. Last year it lent 4,969 print books and media and logged 4,231 visits.
The short version on Vernon Township’s library
Vernon District Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Vernon District Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Vernon District Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Four of the five libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Vernon District Public Library serves 4,273 people in and around Vernon Township, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Vernon Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Vernon Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #569 of 697 in Michigan. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$80K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Vernon Township
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.1%
12.1% of Vernon Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 12.4% in the typical Michigan town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Vernon Township’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Vernon District Public Library serves 4,273 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Vernon District Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
4,969 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
89 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Vernon District Public Library, 115 East Main Street, Vernon.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Vernon District Public Library branch.
New in Vernon Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vernon Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $86K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $90K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $86K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 887 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | Vernon District Public Library | — | 31 | C+ |
| Shiawassee Township | Shiawassee Township Library fine-free | — | 26 | B− |
| Venice Township | Perkins Library of Lennon fine-free | — | 26 | B− |
| Gaines Township | Gaines Station Library | — | 12 | B |
| Durand | Durand Memorial Branch Library fine-free | — | 56 | A− |
| Burns Township | Burns Township/George Vince Library Community Library fine-free | — | 22 | B+ |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Vernon District Public Library serves 4,273 people in and around Vernon Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Vernon Township.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Vernon Township
Does Vernon Township have a public library?
Yes. Vernon District Public Library, 115 East Main Street, serves 4,273 people in and around Vernon Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Vernon District Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vernon Township’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Vernon Township’s civic life grade?
C+ Vernon Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #569 of 697 in Michigan. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Vernon Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.